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Aviation History
1910
1910 - 0064.PDF
JANUARY 22, 1910, MILITARY ASPECT OF DIRIGIBLE BALLOONS AND AEROPLANES. By COL. CAPPER, R.E. IN discussing the bearing on warfare of any new and untried instru ment of war, we must recognise that we have no sure grounds of actual experience on which to base our opinions, but at the same time we are more likely to work on correct lines if we carefully study the results of experiments made in peace time, inquire into developments which are likely to occur in the near future, and trace from these data their probable results on military operations. The progress already made, however, is great enough to force on all nations, who may sooner or later have to embark on military operations. Dirigible Balloons.—Small balloons, like the American " Bald win," the German " Clouth," and the British "No. I," are only able to attain a speed of from 16 to 22 miles per hour, and to con tinue at that speed at from one to four hours with only two as a crew ; larger types, as the French " Republique," the German " Parseval," and " Gross," and the Italian military dirigible, have made journeys of twelve and fourteen hours' duration at an average speed of about 30 miles per hour with six or seven passengers, whilst the huge Zeppelin has remained in the air for as much as thirty-eight hours, has made numerous long journeys to different parts of Germany with a crew of twelve persons, and is said to be capable of a speed of approaching 35 miles per hour. These speeds, though considerable, are far from being sufficient for all purposes, as the speed of the wind at high altitudes surpasses 30 miles an hour on very many days in the year. The dirigibles of the present day are capable of journeys of from 300 to 700 miles under favourable conditions, and are capable of carrying a full working crew besides officers for reconnoitring. They have also been fitted with wireless telegraph apparatus, and have remained in communication with land stations for considerable distances. They are capable of ascending to heights varying between 4,000 and 6,000 ft. above sea-level, and of re-descending and journeying at lower levels, and their gas-bags are made of material which enables them to remain filled, with little leakage, for weeks at a time. It may be taken as an axiom, therefore, that an up-to-date dirigible balloon is capable of starting in ordinary light weather from Yarmouth, and in the course of twelve hours proceeding as far as either Portsmouth, Southampton, Birmingham or York, and returning again to Yarmouth, when, having taken, in fresh supplies of petrol and oil, and some thousands of cubic feet of hydrogen, and possibly a fresh crew, it can again proceed on an equally lengthy journey, throughout the whole of which it may remain at an altitude of a mile above sea-level. A Zeppelin, under similar conditions, starting from Yarmouth, could go to and return from any point in England, or on the east coast of Ireland, or to Scotland as far north as Glasgow or Dundee. It is a moot point whether a balloon has much to fear from electric storms. Many free balloons have been in the air without accident in severe thunderstorms, whilst I only know of one case of one being struck and set on fire, but the chances are so uncertain, that in peace time it is always advisable to quit the air should thunderstorms approach. It is when on the ground exposed to the force of the wind, especially when this varies its direction rapidly, that a dirigible balloon is most in danger of destruction, but methods of anchoring these are improving, and it is probable that any well-designed type may be trusted to ride in safety at anchor, in winds up to 30 miles an hour, or even in strong winds if the engines can be used to assist. A non-rigid balloon, in case of violent winds, may be rapidly deflated, without damage, except for the loss of the hydrogen it contains. Aeroplanes.—Enough has been done to date to establish the power of an aeroplane to rise in any fairly level open spaOe with a run of from 60 to 200 yds., and in the hands of a skilled operator t'o travel in fair weather a distance of over 100 miles. That no long sensational flights, such as that from London to Manchester, have yet been accomplished, must be put down, partly *d the large sums of money at the mercy of the limited number of -skilled aviators for exhibition flights over small circular courses, and partly to the disinclination of aviators to risk themselves and their machines at present in a flight which must at present impose a •severe strain on both them and their engines. Developments. Dirigibles. — As regards developments, it appears probable that the largest • dirigible balloons at present constructed do not represent in size the ships of the near future. Even the Zeppelins, which equal the largest cruisers in size, cannot compare with some of those even now contemplated on the Continent, whilst with increase of size will come increase of speed and of carrying capacity, allowing of a larger radius of action, and of carrying very considerable spare weight. That long journeys will be undertaken is certain, when scientists of such acknowledged renown as Dr. Hergesell are seriously con templating sending an expedition to Spitrbergen, and thence to the North Pole. These large ships will, in all probability, be of the rigid type, owing to the comparative safety of that type should accident occur to one of the numerous contained balloons, whilst with the non-rigid and semi-rigid types, should any considerable tear in the envelope occur whilst travelling ,at high speed, as in the case of the " Republique," the destruction of the vessel is practically assured. I am of opinion, therefore, that vessels of the semi-rigid and non-rigid type will not tend to increase in size beyond the 250,000 to 300,000 cubic ft. vessels already under construction, whilst it is not improbable that the tendency will be to build more easily- handled vessels of from 150,000 to 200,000 cubic ft. in capacity, but on the other hand the present rigid vessels of 400,000 to 500,000 cubic ft. may be replaced by larger ones of 1,000,000 cubic ft. or more. , .. , p , Aeroplanes.—The astonishing progress made with aeroplanes of various types during the last eighteen months, and the attention which is now being paid to them at home and abroad by very numerous serious engineers and scientists, and the daily develop ments of light internal-combustion engines, cannot but result, in the course of the next few years, in the evolution :of machines which wift be as far superior to existing ones as the motor car of to-day is in advance of that of 1899. . It is not probable that within so short a space of time as five or ten years they will enter into the daily life of the people as motors do now, but an aeroplane travelling at great speed and at great heights above our heads will be so common a sight as not to attract unusual attention, whilst sporting competitions in which they are engaged will not be stopped on account of weather more often thai* Other out-of-door sporting fixtures. Flight will probably be possible with smaller horse-power than at present; motors will be more reliable and economical of fuel ; methods will be adopted for increasing or diminishing speed ; auto matic or almost automatic stability will be assured, whilst large numbers of men will be able to manage the machines. With automatic stability the strain on the pilot's nerves will be reduced, and the distance a machine can travel will depend solely on the amount of petrol carried and the force of the wind with or against it. There seems no reason why heights of 5,000 or 6,000 ft. should not; be attained as easily as 1,500 ft., so considerable mountain ranges can be traversed, and it needs little imagination to assume that non-stop runs of 400 or 500 miles will probably prove not uncornmop. Military Aspect,—I pass, however, to the, for us, all-important question as to what are to be the uses in war of these machines, and on such an unknown subject I can only offer the opinions I have arrived at after several years of careful study, and I ask you to- consider them, not as the ideals of an enthusiast, but as the logical conclusions of a serious student. I hope that other students here will join in the discussion later. I ask you especially to avoid ^belittling the probable effects on war of aerial machines. Now the first conclusion I have arrived at is that we must take the subject very seriously ; it does not suffice to blind our eyes to patent facts and to say that what has never been done never will be done, nor must we tackle it in a half-hearted manner. Uses of Dirigible Balloons.—The first and most obvious use to- be made of aerial machines is "reconnaissance." We have in them portable observatories, capable of accompanying armies in the field, and of taking staff officers, photographers, and telegraph operators over the whole theatre of war with the speed of •a railway train. Reconnaissance is of two general types—" strategical," which necessitates travelling over very long distances in order to observe the movements of troops, trains, &c., whilst still far distant from our own forces ; and " tactical," which entails obtaining detailed informa tion as to the position and movements of troops within a compara tively small radius. The necessity of obtaining information is so great that heavy risks are willingly run in order to secure it, whilst often strategical 60
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